Utah Windriders Association

I've got an interesting relationship with rush. its just so much closer to me and like 100% more relaxing commute that more often than not i find myself checking the sensors when i know Utah Lake is going to go off. Its just so easy- leave work at 5, rigged and on the water by 6:00 no problem. why do i continually torture myself with the allure of a easy ride evening with no crowds and a relaxing commute when i know there is a safe ride down south?

went home to pick up gear and the dog about 4:45 and checked the sensors after watching it build all afternoon- still reading north at lakepoint and rush is going off. pack up, drive I-80 and by the time i reach lakepoint again- no wind. in fact i think i see a puff of south. check the sensors and see that SLC airport is going strong north. its got to be a fluke, right? Billy at this point is talking in my head- "you can't ride unless you actually go to the beach. don't be that guy! be committed and keep going!" So i continue on. less and less wind. i get to rush to find one more car with a down kite and a slight texture on the lake. i stay committed and pump up and suit up anyway. well, i get enough puffs to ride like maybe 20 reaches on the surfboard and had like 5 on the small board and 13M Rev. looking back at the sensors and seeing the single digits- i'm surprised i rode.

the lake is really getting big. on the beach a few weeks ago i heard someone say its only going to fill in more. i thought it was wishful thinking, but it was not. the old road is under water, and the new road is incredibly muddy and i bet it boggs out next week. the only road left is the one up by the fence. to be exact, this is on the west side of the lake. i still haven't ventured on the south side. middle of the lake is solid waist to chest high.

Mike,

I hear you... I hate driving the "luge" to get to Utah Lake during rush hour traffic. Rush is so sweet and it doesn't give me nasal blockage. My solution to Rush - Silver Arrow. I have gotten so many rides there with that oversized kite. Spent many an afternoon there, just me and the birds. I so stoked that we are going to have Rush all summer and fall. Just think of those monsoon days when UL gets shutdown before it ever gets started. I used to kite all afternoon on a north thermal at Rush on monsoon days. I would pack up as the clouds started to build.

See you out at Rush, you sick mud puppie!

Kenny

Rush vs UL...
Not even a question for me and other "northerners"
Location, location, location.
The tension driving home through happy valley negates the high from the kiting.
The possibility of pre work sessions, and post work sessions, are always a bonus.
Flat water abounds, and I enjoy not having to fight through the crowd just to land and launch.
I, like Kenny, never have the nasal rot at Rush, that I get at every other water kite spot in Utah.

"Rush is Plush"

as a wise man once said,,,ha..

From my many years of kiting Rush lake I have found that it does not blow very well in the evenings. There can be exceptions, but I have showed up after work on many occassions to hear how great it was earlier. The plight of the working man. On a South wind day the winds usually start out SE then clock around S, SW, WSW, then West. It gets really gusty once it turns WSW. Eventually it will turn North. That can be good. I have had some memorable North wind evenings at Rush. Those evenings are real crowd pleasers at Utah Lake, however. Rush is a morning/daytime kiting location. UL is an evening location. Yuba is a sun-up location. DC is a daytime location. IMHO

I have never had a good evening session at rush. I have camped out after great day sessions, had wonderful am rippers, Plenty of mid day joy. But never a single session after 4 o'clock...

jason morton wrote:From my many years of kiting Rush lake I have found that it does not blow very well in the evenings. There can be exceptions, but I have showed up after work on many occassions to hear how great it was earlier. The plight of the working man. On a South wind day the winds usually start out SE then clock around S, SW, WSW, then West. It gets really gusty once it turns WSW. Eventually it will turn North. That can be good. I have had some memorable North wind evenings at Rush. Those evenings are real crowd pleasers at Utah Lake, however. Rush is a morning/daytime kiting location. UL is an evening location. Yuba is a sun-up location. DC is a daytime location. IMHO

words of a veteran

Sometimes Rush does not produce in the afternoons, especially on a pure thermal north day. There have been days where it really didn't kick in until 4 and shutdown around 8, sometimes it will hang on until dark. However, I agree that it is more likely to shutdown or lighten up in the evening while at the same time UL is blowing strong. I have had a few nights when I kicked myself for not going to UL. The problem with UL is that we don't have enough decent launch spots with the high water. I predict lots of crowded evenings at Lincoln.

I like riding Rush on a strong SE in the mornings. The wind is on-shore and flukey at the northern part of the lake, but you can get in a long reach to the pig farm. Rush used to produce swell back in the day now that it is chest deep, it should kick up some nice swell on SE wind mornings.

thanks for the reminders. i now seem to recall numerous times showing up after work and hearing how good it was earlier. Thanks for the reminder Jason. When i was first learning, i was almost starting to believe that i was in fact the wind killer and that all you guys must hate me...

I just guess i'll just have to sack up and make the commitment to UL more. However, last night sure paid off.

Trust Kenny about the early mornings at Rush. Rumor has it, that often times, he and Mike R rigged up in the pre-dawn hours using headlamps to see their lines.
Last summer, due to low water at Rush, I spent most of my free time sailing on the GSL. The big pond delivers nice NW Thermals almost every afternoon, in the 5-12 mph range. Too light for kiting but fun sailboat wind. Talk about BIG sails. Anyway, my thoughts are that this NW push blocks the flow of any light to moderate S wind at rush from a free flow up the valley. The flags in Tooele can be either N or S in these conditions. So as many have said, Rush puts out in the Morning to early PM quite predictably and after that it's questionable. Yesterday, the Marina was N NW all day with 3-10 in the pm.
Jonmzee
Sailing the GSL on my 'vintage Catalina 25 with Full Main and 150 Genny. Making 5-6 knts on 8mph wind. Water is so heavy it really doesn't have many ripples until it caps at about 10-11 mph

Jon(skipper)-
I wanna go!! I'll even swab the deck or however you say it!!